Exploring Pre-Service Physics Teachers’ Understanding of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle

Author(s):

Serkan Ekinci(presenting / submitting)Ahmet İlhan Şen

Conference:

ECER 2017

Network:

27. Didactics - Learning and Teaching

Format:

Paper

Session Information

27 SES 05 C, Innovative Approaches to Learning and Teaching

Paper Session

Time:

2017-08-23

13:30-15:00

Room:

K3.06

Chair:

Mylène Ducrey Monnier

Contribution

In science education, research has shown that before instruction students develop conceptions that contradict the scientific knowledge. Several terms have been used for these conceptions; for example, misconceptions (Helm, 1980), alternative conceptions (Driver & Easley, 1978), children’s science (Gilbert, Watts, & Osborne, 1982).

The concepts in quantum physics are generally counter-intuitive (Ireson, 2000; Johnston, Crawford, & Fletcher, 1998). Moreover, the development of students’ alternative conceptions in quantum physics is much more different than that in classical physics (Styer, 1996), As Styer (1996) argued, while alternative conceptions in classical physics generally result from students’ everyday experiences and generalizations, this is not the case for those in quantum physics. However, one probable source for the alternative conceptions in it may be that “traditional instruction causes the mix-up of conceptual frameworks of CP (i.e. classical physics) and QP (i.e. quantum physics)” (Kalkanis, Hadzidaki, & Stavrou, 2003, p. 258). In other words, after instruction, students tend to conceptualize the concepts and phenomena in quantum physics within the framework of classical physics. Previous research has also revealed students’ to have alternative conceptions even after studying the quantum physics concepts (Johnston, Crawford, & Fletcher, 1998; Olsen, 2002; Petri & Niedderer, 1998; Singh, 2001; Tsaparlis, 1997; Tsaparlis & Papaphotis, 2009).

In particular, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle is one of the central concepts in quantum physics. Park and Light (2009) argued that if students understand the uncertainty principle and quantization of energy, they will be able to develop an understanding of the quantum structure of the atom. However, research has showed that students did not comprehend the uncertainty principle (Ayene, Kriek, & Damtie, 2011; Tsaparlis & Papaphotis, 2009). Considering these, the following research question was investigated in the present study:

How do pre-service physics teachers understand the Heisenberg uncertainty principle?

Method

A qualitative research methodology was used to answer the research question. A total of eighteen students enrolled in physics education program in a state university in Ankara, Turkey participated in the study. All participants were fifth-grade students. Of the 18 students, 15 of them are female and 3 of them are male. Throughout their undergraduate years, the students have taken various advanced physics and education courses. For example, they had taken several quantum physics courses such as Quantum Physics, Quantum Mechanics I and Quantum Mechanics II. In these courses, they were introduced the fundamental quantum principles like the photoelectric effect, models of the atom, Compton scattering, Franck-Hertz experiment, operators and commutators, Heisenberg uncertainty principle, Schrödinger wave equation etc. Before the data collection, an open-ended questionnaire was developed to probe pre-service physics teachers’ understanding of the uncertainty principle. The students were given an hour to complete the questionnaire. After that, their responses for each question were analysed, and based on their responses, a semi-structured interview form was developed to examine their understanding of the uncertainty principle in detail. In the present study, we only discuss the analysis results of students’ responses to the interview questions. The interview form mainly consisted of two parts; in the first part, we asked questions that probe students’ knowledge related to the uncertainty principle. For example, we asked them to explain the terms Δx and Δp in the uncertainty principle. To probe their knowledge further, in the second part, we asked them to describe electrons’ motions in a single atom, and to explain the concepts of orbit, orbital, and shell. All students were interviewed individually for about 20 minutes, and the interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim.

Expected Outcomes

The preliminary results revealed that most students did not comprehend the ideas underlined by the uncertainty principle. While nearly all students stated the uncertainty principle correctly, most of them were not able to explain the reason why exact measurements of two properties (e.g. position-momentum) of a given quantum entity (e.g. electron) could not be made simultaneously. In addition, it was found that they did not know the meaning of Δx and Δp; for example, they used terms like ‘displacement’ or ‘the total distance taken’ for Δx, and ‘momentum change’ for Δp. Moreover, when we asked the students to describe electrons’ behaviour in the atom, most of them were inclined to refer to the orbit concept. In addition, a few students used concepts of orbit and orbital together to respond that question. The results suggest that although the pre-service physics teachers have studied the uncertainty principle before, they were not able to develop a conceptual understanding related to that principle. By considering all these results, we argue that undergraduate quantum physics courses should focus more on conceptual teaching of quantum physics concepts and phenomena. Acknowledgements This study is supported by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK).

References

Ayene, M., Kriek, J., & Damtie, B. (2011). Wave-particle duality and uncertainty principle: Phenomenographic categories of description of tertiary physics students' depictions. Physical Review Special Topics - Physics Education Research, 7(2), 020113. Driver, R., & Easley, J. (1978). Pupils and paradigms: A review of literature related to concept development in adolescent science students. Studies in Science Education, 5, 61-84. Gilbert, J. K., Watts, D. M., & Osborne, R. J. (1982). Students' conceptions of ideas in mechanics. Physics Education, 17(2), 62-66. Helm, H. (1980). Misconceptions in physics amongst South African students. Physics Education, 15(2), 92-105. Ireson, G. (2000). The quantum understanding of pre-university physics students. Physics Education, 35(1), 15-21. Johnston, I. D., Crawford, K., & Fletcher, P. R. (1998). Student difficulties in learning quantum mechanics. International Journal of Science Education, 20(4), 427-446. Kalkanis, G., Hadzidaki, P., & Stavrou, D. (2003). An instructional model for a radical conceptual change towards quantum mechanics concepts. Science Education, 87(2), 257-280. Olsen, R. V. (2002). Introducing quantum mechanics in the upper secondary school: A study in Norway. International Journal of Science Education, 24(6), 565-574. Park, E. J., & Light, G. (2009). Identifying Atomic Structure as a Threshold Concept: Student mental models and troublesomeness. International Journal of Science Education, 31(2), 233-258. Petri, J., & Niedderer, H. (1998). A learning pathway in high-school level quantum atomic physics. International Journal of Science Education, 20(9), 1075-1088. Singh, C. (2001). Student understanding of quantum mechanics. American Journal of Physics, 69(8), 885-895. Styer, D. F. (1996). Common misconceptions regarding quantum mechanics. American Journal of Physics, 64(1), 31-34. Tsaparlis, G. (1997). Atomic Orbitals, Molecular Orbitals and Related Concepts: Conceptual Difficulties Among Chemistry Students. Research in Science Education, 27(2), 271-287. Tsaparlis, G., & Papaphotis, G. (2009). High-school Students' Conceptual Difficulties and Attempts at Conceptual Change: The case of basic chemical concepts. International Journal of Science Education, 31(7), 895-930.

Author Information

Serkan Ekinci (presenting / submitting)

Hacettepe University

Department of Mathematics and Science Education

Ankara

Ahmet İlhan Şen

Hacettepe University, Turkey

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